


For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky:  One Small Step, One Giant Leap

by Cheree_Cargill



Series: Glimpses of a Life [66]
Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 05:04:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15623163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheree_Cargill/pseuds/Cheree_Cargill
Summary: Spock and Christine and the medical team have been working for weeks to decipher the Fabrini archives to find a cure for Dr. McCoy's xenopolycethemia.  The close quarters of the lab have given them a chance to get closer and Spock finally makes a decision.





	For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky:  One Small Step, One Giant Leap

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: The Star Trek characters are the property of Paramount Studios, Inc. The story contents are the creation and property of Cheree Cargill and is copyright (c) 2018 by Cheree Cargill. This story is Rated PG.

_Stardate:_ _5542._ _8._ _First Officer Spock recording._

It has been four months since we left the asteroid ship _Yonada_ , leaving it to travel the rest of the way on its journey to its new homeworld. Before our departure, we were allowed by its Oracle and High Priestess Natira to copy the Fabrini archives with the hope of finding a cure for Dr. McCoy's unfortunate disease, xenopolycythemia.

Our library computer was able to translate the Fabrini symbols into Standard language, but there we discovered a major problem. The names for elements, chemicals and diseases in Fabrini had no correlation in Standard, but simply came out as gibberish. We were thus forced to have the computer analyze each element by its stated atomic weight, find a matching atomic weight in the Fabrini files to identify each element, then match them element by element to our known compounds and chemicals until we were able to assign a name to them. Gradually, we have begun translating the section of the Fabrini medical files relating to blood diseases, but there is no point in knowing that _abo'qatinel_ is the cure for _malkneq-barost_ if one has no idea to what these refer!

Steadily, we are making progress. Nurse Chapel and I have dedicated ourselves to uncovering anything we can in search of a possible cure, myself handling the translations and she and her team compiling and testing every plausible combination. There have been promising leads but so far no breakthroughs. Dr. McCoy assists us as his strength allows, but he is obviously fading from the buildup of red corpuscles in his bloodstream which are beginning to form clots. Thus far, Sick Bay has been able to keep up with his deterioration, keeping the clots from going to his lungs and triggering a pulmonary embolism. But they cannot delay the inevitable forever.

Chapel and I worked into the wee hours tonight in the pathology lab with her team. One often forgets that she has a doctorate in biochemistry and that she is brilliant when allowed to practice in her research field. At last she thinks she may have found something and, wearily, she has fed the test sample into the processor to run through the cycle. While it runs, she has sent her team on a short meal break. She is exhausted as well, but will not leave her work.

Seeing her shoulders slump slightly and her head nod, I ventured to reach over and lightly touch my fingertips to hers. She startled and looked up at me. "What?! Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Spock. You caught me about to doze off."

"You need rest, Christine," I said quietly, deliberately using her first name. We were alone in the lab and I felt I could speak plainly. "And when did you last eat?"

"Ummm…" She shook her head, causing her blonde hair to tremble. "About … about…"

"It was over seven hours ago, wasn't it?"

"Maybe. Probably. I don't remember." She turned back to the serum processor, then, attempting to ignore my query, she glanced over at the replicator. "I just need some coffee."

"You do not need more caffeine," I insisted. "As soon as the lab technicians return from their break, you will allow them to take over here and I will escort you to your cabin, where you will sleep for no less than eight hours." My voice and expression were firm. I was prepared to make it an order,

"I can't leave—"

"You can and you will. You are dead on your feet and are apt to make mistakes in your depleted condition."

We had a staring contest for several seconds, then she gave in. "I'm so tired, Spock," she murmured and covered her eyes for a moment with her hand. "How long have we been at this now? I can't remember any more."

"Eight days, fourteen hours and twenty-three minutes since we began testing this batch of serum derivatives," I answered.

At that moment Lab Technician Sterling returned and Miss Chapel reluctantly turned the testing over to him. "I'm going to bed, Johnny," she said. "I can't keep my eyes open anymore."

"Go get some sleep, Chris," he replied. "We'll call if anything turns up. See you in the morning."

She nodded and the two of us left the Path Lab. True to my word, I walked with her back to her cabin. She was so exhausted that at one point she stumbled slightly and I put my arm around her waist to steady her. I did not remove it until we reached her door.

Once there, she seemed to realize that my slight embrace had not left her torso and she peered up at me in astonishment. I guided her inside her cabin before I let her go.

"What are you doing, Spock?" she asked blearily.

I turned her away from me and drew her lab coat from her shoulders, placing it on a chair, then with my hands on her upper arms, I gently pushed her toward the sleeping chamber. "I am putting you to bed, Christine."

"I can—"

She interrupted herself with a huge yawn. Stepping past her, I turned the covers of her bed down and then sat her down on the edge of the mattress. I intended to help her undress and don her night clothes, but at that moment, she heaved a great sigh and toppled over onto her pillow. She was asleep almost instantly.

For a moment, I stood looking down at her, wondering if I should indeed ease her out of her clothing and help her into her sleeping attire, but then decided that would be completely improper. Instead, I lifted her legs onto her bed and gently removed her boots, then covered her with the blanket and tucked her in. She never moved except for her deep, regular breathing. As she had once done to me, I stood by her bedside and watched her sleep, her face smoothed out slightly from the tired, drawn features she had acquired over the past weeks.

Reaching down, I smoothed the hair from her face, then softly ordered the cabin lights out, and retreated from her quarters and down the corridor to my own room and my own bed.

* * *

She was already back in the lab when I arrived the next morning, occupied with the formula she had begun last night. As I entered, she looked up at me excitedly. "It worked, Spock! I've already run two more tests on Len's blood, and it works! Totally normal. We're still testing, and if continues to be positive, I want to try an actual dose on him later today."

I nodded and stepped closer so that we could converse in low tones. "Did you sleep well? Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. Thanks, by the way." She glanced up at me with a slight puzzled expression on her face. "You let me sleep in my clothes last night. Why didn't you change me into my pj's?"

"You were dead asleep," I murmured back, "and, while tempting, it would have been completely atrocious behavior on my part to disrobe an unconscious woman."

She gave a little chuckle. "Any other man might have," she whispered suggestively.

I gazed at her seriously now and replied in a low tone, "I am not any other man. And you are not any other woman."

That caused her brows to flick up and we stood staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds, then she cleared her throat and turned back to her work. "Annie, check that sample now," she directed one of her lab techs. I moved to my own work station and back to my task of translation of the Fabrini chemical formulas.

* * *

Dr. McCoy responded beautifully to the completed formulation. Over the next three days, continual doses into his bloodstream reversed the effects of the xenopolycythemia. His red blood count gradually returned to normal and the various clotting factors began to operate in their normal range. I am not a medical person, but Miss Chapel is and, with Dr. M'Benga closely supervising her administration of the drug, slowly she brought our Chief Medical Officer back to his usual irascible self. I stood by with a medical tricorder, monitoring the progress of the serum, and finally saw that there was no deviation now in McCoy's bloodstream, bone marrow, or spleen. He was cured, thanks to the Fabrini medical archive.

We left him sleeping off the admittedly rough procedure that he had endured, and Christine and I retreated to her office. To her surprise, I closed the door and signaled it for privacy. And I deliberately drew her into my arms and held her for a quick embrace.

When I released her, she stared at me, stunned, and said, "You're full of surprises lately, Spock! What was that all about?!"

"Because you are remarkable," I answered. "You have saved his life and countless others who suffer from this disease. This may win you a Nobel and Zee Magnees Prize in Medicine."

She laughed softly. "You helped, you know. Without your computer work translating the Fabrini language into Standard, we would never have found the cure in time."

"No. I did nothing. You and your team did everything," I insisted. "I am very proud of you."

"Well, that admission is new for you, too!" She laughed again. "Who are you and what have you done with Mr. Spock? He would just have said everything we did was totally logical."

"And it was," I replied. "But you are still remarkable."

She was blushing now and allowed her lips to pull into her wonderful smile. "Okay, well, thanks. It's not over, though. We still have to see if the cure is permanent, if there are any side effects, and so on. Then we have to write up our paper and documentation, submit it for peer review, have others test it…"

"Of course, but you have made a great leap toward eradicating this disease. That is to be celebrated."

Her expression turned slightly more serious as she peered up at me. "But, I really have to ask -- what's up? Why are you so attentive to me lately? Your attitude toward me has changed. Why?"

I dropped my gaze to the floor and decided that now was the time. I looked back up to meet her beautiful blue eyes. "Christine, we have known and worked with one another for over three years now. After your declaration to me at Psi 2000, I admit that I was flustered and did not know how to respond. In fact, I could _not_ respond to you. First, my position as First Officer forbade my fraternization with other crew members and so I had to be aloof to you. And, second, I was betrothed and could not betray my bondmate. It was only after she betrayed _me_ and we divorced that I was free to acknowledge your feelings toward me. But I am still your superior officer and we cannot engage in a relationship that would compromise my position on the ship."

"I know all that," she answered. "But it seems to me that you've been doing just that over the past few days."

"Indeed. I have come to realize that I greatly wish for a bonded mate and that, of all the women I know, there are none who are as compatible, or intelligent, or desirable to me as you. I believe that we are friends now, Christine, and I care for you more than any other. It would please me well if, at some time in the future, you would consider me in your plans for a life companion."

She was stunned. "Um … um …" She could not speak for a moment, then she blinked and stared back at me. "I don't know what to say, Spock! Are you asking me to marry you?"

"No, not at this time," I responded. "We still have over a year and a half on our mission in which I must maintain my position on the ship, as you must, also. But, might we begin to see one another off duty and … begin to learn of one another? Learn our histories and likes and dislikes? Discuss our mutual interests and see if we have, indeed, a workable relationship that might transform itself into something more permanent in time?"

She was silent for a moment then nodded. "Yes. Yes, I would like that. That Psi virus just revealed an infatuation I had with you then, not real love. But I truly have come to respect and admire you, Spock. I really have grown to love you. I won't push anything and won't try to hurry this along. We'll take it slowly and naturally."

"That is as I would wish, Christine. We will be discreet as our positions demand, but I would like to celebrate your and your team's achievement with a dinner tonight. It will not seem odd that we are together if there are other people there. But we will know."

She smiled widely. "Yes. Shall we say 1800 in the main rec room? I'll alert my team."

I gave her a small nod of agreement. "Until then."

At that, I turned to go but she caught me off-guard by pulling me down into a quick kiss. "Until tonight," she said. "And to the future."

THE END


End file.
